"What, are you gonna resort to physical violence?" A cold smile curved Du
stin's lips at the sight of the security guards surrounding him. He'd alw
ays been the type who was open to persuasion, not coercion. Perhaps he wo
uld've given in to them if they'd talked to him nicely, but if they wante
d to opt for physical
violence he didn't mind teaching them a lesson or two,
well,
"So what if I am? Don't think too highly of yourself, you brat!" Quentin
snarled. He'd always harbored a grudge against Dustin for humiliating him
at their first meeting. If not for Natasha keeping him in check, he woul
d've exacted revenge on Dustin ages ago. Now that Natasha wasn't around,
it was his chance to get payback!
"Quentin, don't take things too far!" Ruth couldn't stand it anymore. "It
's up to Dustin whether he wants to sell the shares. If you dare do anyth
ing to harm him, I won't let you off the hook!"
"Ruth, this has nothing to do with you. Keep your nose out of this! Quent
in didn't back down.
"Why, you-
"Ruth was about to say something else when Jessica stopped her.
"Dustin, a wise man knows how to adapt to the situation. You can't hoard
all those shares for yourself, so cough them up when we're asking nicely,
Jessica said. "Many people have gotten into trouble not because of thing
s they've done but because they possess things that shouldn't belong to t
hem. With your identity and ability, you'll only get yourself into more t
rouble if you keep these shares."
"Is that a threat, Mrs. Harmon?" Dustin cidn't bat an eye.
"It's a piece of advice. One should know their limits–
do you think you would've achieved what you have if not for my daughter p
rotecting you?" Jessica looked at him contemptuously.
"I won't deny that Ms. Harmon has given me plenty of help, but I didn't r
ely on anyone to get to where I am now,
Dustin said coldly. "As for Immortunol, I think there's something you nee
d to get straight–
I provided the formula and was the first to develop it successfully. I do
n't care about the shares, but that doesn't mean I'll
allow you to push me around like this!"
"How dare you!" Jessica slammed a hand on the table and shot to her feet.
"Dustin, I've tried to play nice with
you. Don't push me!"
"Who's pushing who?" Dustin retorted. "When the Hummer family successfull
y developed and marketed
Eternumax, the Harmon
family had nothing and no way to compete with them. I was the one who hel
ped you
make it past that crisis, yet here you are, burning bridges as soon as yo
u get the chance. Is this how ungrateful the Harmon family–
or certain family members, at least–is?
"Why, you-
Jessica fumed. She didn't expect a brat who relied on the Harmon family'
s protection to rebuke
her like this.
"Aunt Jessica, don't waste your breath on this brat. All we need to do is
capture him; I have plenty of ways to make him give in!" Quentin fanned
the flames.
"Mom, don't do anything rash. If you lay a hand on Dustin, Natasha won't
ever forgive you!" Ruth warned.
Jessica stiffened. Ruth's words made her stop to think for a while. Her r
elationship with Natasha was already strained; if she were
to go ahead with this, Natasha would probably sever ties with her.
1/3
Chapter 228
At this moment, the man who'd been sitting opposite Jessica and the other
s spoke. "Mrs. Harmon, I thought it would be easy for you to retrieve the
shares, but it seems I was wrong."
"And who are you?" Dustin gave him a cold look. He'd noticed this man as
soon as he'd stepped into the conference room. He supposed this guy was t
he cause of Jessica's sudden interference.
"The name's Williams, Brody Williams. I'm from Boulderthorn Guild; my fat
her's the second–in–command," the
man said coolly.
"Mr. Williams is your father, huh?" Dustin raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He'd met Oliver Williams earlier, it
seemed Brody was his brother.
"I'm sure you know how powerful the Boulderthorn Guild is." Brody lit a c
igarette and took a drag. Then, he waved a hand around and said arrogantl
y. "So, you're left with two options–
either you hand over the shares and take the 50 million or make an enemy
out of me."
"I won't give the shares up unless Ms.
Harmon personally asks me to." Dustin said coolly.
"Excuse me?" Brody's expression became frosty. "Do you know what you're t
alking about, you brat? Have you thought about the consequences you'd bea
r if you make an enemy out of the Boulderthorn Guild?"
"Firstly, you don't represent the Boulderthom Guild. Secondly, so what if
I make an enemy out of you? Do you
think the Boulderthorn Guild runs the world?" Dustin didn't bat an eye.
"I admire your audacity, brat. It's been a while since someone had the ne
rve to speak to me like that. Still you'll have to pay for your arrogance
! As for the rest of you." Brody grinned menacingly as he turned to Jessi
ca and the others. "If you don't want to make an enemy out of the Boulder
thorn Guild, you'd better show me some of your sincerity in forming an al
liance. If this brat refuses to give us ownership of his shares, you're t
he ones
who'll have to cough it up. Either way, we're definitely getting our hand
s on 50 percent of
Immortuncl's shares!"
Jessica's expression changed at his words, as did the others. Il Dustin r
efused to hand over his shares, he'd drag the rest of them down with him.
Boulderthorn Guild was backing them into a corner.
"I've already said everything there is to say: I'll leave the final decis
ion in your hands. See you around." Brody
snorted and stood up.
"Hold it!" Dustin said.
"What, changed your mind already?" Brody sneered. "I thought you were a t
ough cookie, but it seems you're a bigger pushover than you look." Then a
gain, it made sense. How many people in Balerno dared to stand up
against the Boulderthorn Guild?
"At least you haven't lost all sense of rationality. Dustin. We could've
avoided all this hassle if you'd just. agreed to it earlier." Jessica hea
ved a sigh of relief. Not even the Harmon family wanted to get on the
Boulderthorn Guild's bad side.
Quentin scolled. "So you were just pretending to be a tough guy. You had
to give in to the Boulderthorn Guild in the end anyway, didn't you? Stop
acting like you're such a big shol." The way he saw it, Brody only had to
threaten Custin a little to make him pee his pants.
"Brody Williams from the Boulderthorn Guild, right?" Dustin slowly got to
his feet. "Do you think you own this
Chanter 228
place, coming and going as you like? Did you bother asking me for permiss
ion?"
"What?" Brody raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean, brat?"
"Do you think you can march in here, act all high and mighty, then leave
whenever you want? What made you think you could do that?" Dustin gave hi
m the stink–eye.
Brody snorted and pointed at his face. "What, do you wanna start a light
or something? Go on, then. I dare you
to lay a punch on me, you-"
Before he finished his sentence, he was sent flying by a crisp slap to th
e face. He spun a few times midair before landing headfirst in a gigantic
vase in the corner. It was large enough for his whole body to fit inside
. leaving his feet sticking out of the mouth,
Jessica and the others were stunned to see that. Their jaws dropped, and
silence descended upon the room.